Thursday, February 18, 2010

My guy and I are currently shopping for a refrigerator for our new home. We're looking for an Energy Star compliant fridge but we're on a budget and we can't afford the lovely updated vintage style appliances available at Big Chill.

We've been disappointed with the limited options available at local retail outlets. We're forced to choose between white, beige, black or faux stainless steel refrigerators which are the only color options available in our price range. The lack of functional and appealing design combined with the lack of color options makes the experience of buying a refrigerator a frustrating experience and it's also limited our kitchen renovation plans.

In an effort to expand our options we've been looking at DIY refrigerator panels made by Frigo Design. They offer a variety of color finishes but most of them are really bold and bright primary colors without much subtly. In other words, they don't really have what we're looking for and the panels are not cheap.

Westinghouse used to be a leading manufacturer of home appliances and in 1968 they were incredibly forward thinking. Below is a commercial I found on Youtube for their "Match Your Mood" refrigerator panel options that allowed buyers to customize their home refrigerators to match any mood or environment. I really wish some smart company offered a similar option today.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

This week I thought I'd continue my visual history of mid-century interior design and focus on the early '60s (1960-65).

The swinging '60s is my favorite decade mainly due to the films, music, art and cultural revolution that took place but I also love '60s design. Here's some examples of fabulous '60s era kitchens borrowed from old magazines.

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

If you'd like to see more pictures of late mid-century kitchens please see my '60s Kitchen Flickr Gallery.

About Mid-Century Living

Welcome to Mid-Century Living! My name is Kimberly and I'm a longtime admirer of mid-century design. My husband and I recently bought our first home and it's a beautiful old custom built 1954 atomic ranch house in Napa, CA. I plan to share my adventures in home restoration and remodeling as well as various decorating tips, gardening and landscaping ideas, recipes and anything else that falls under the banner of "Mid-Century" or "Living." I'll also be writing about local issues and various things that interest me as a new home owner. I hope you'll enjoy your stop here!